Tidbits
by who smiles
Summary: Four random one-shots on various subjects about various characters.  Note: In II, Toph can see. Yeah, yeah, gripe all you want...


**This is just practice for me. I'm trying to get the Gaangs' characteristics down, so this is kind of like a brain dump. Random little drabblings that I came up with for no apparent reason. Constructive criticism will be appreciated! Remember: I'm doing this SOLELY to learn their characters for a later fic…maybe…**

**I. **

The Firelord's Palace is a much happier place near the holidays, compared to the usual brooding inhabitants. Not meant with any disrespect, of course, but it seems that the hardly expressive Firelord married a slab of a girl with the emotional range of a teaspoon.

"She does _not _have the emotional range of a teaspoon!" he argues vehemently.

"He's right," she chimes in, face blank, "a teaspoon is _much _more expressive then I could ever dream of being."

Her statement is followed by an exaggerate roll of her eyes, a deep kiss to her fiancé's lips, and a certain gesture given to the (ridiculously) strange and self-proclaimed 'Firelord Fangirls' that have managed to publish (ridiculous) fantasies about their 'main man and his secret waterbending girlfriend'.

But on the subject of holidays…

The summer's end is being celebrated by said Firelord and Firelady, along with their closest friends. Each has been given a room to call home for the time they spend, and a regal order that they use the servant's as much as they wish.

On particularly starry night, it's decided that dinner underneath the night sky on the beach would be _marvelous _and _astounding _and _Zuko, you have let us go pleeeease _so they hitch up long, business types robes and wade through the chilly saltwater, chattering and laughing all the while.

The youngest in the group, and admittedly the toughest, digs her toes in the sand and cracks her knuckles. "Twinkletoes," she calls out, smirking, "I hate to tear you away from 'splashy-time with Sweetness'-"

As expected, the accused waterbender squeals and humphs, then submerges herself underwater.

"-but how 'bout me and you have an old fashioned sand-battle?"

The Avatar, dubbed 'Twinkletoes' and other equally embarrassing variations of the nickname, smiles boyishly. "Can't," he says casually. "You know my rules: play nice or don't play at all."

"What about what I said wasn't nice enough for you?"

"Well for starters…" he shuffles out of the water, "You didn't say please. And you called Katara Sweetness again—"

"—I still don't see what's so bad about that—"

"You don't see period!" Sokka chimes in helpfully.

"Secondly," Aang continues, ignoring the other boy, "You kinda sorta might've embarrassed Katara a tinyyy bit…"

"A bit?" Mai snorts from her spot in Zuko's arms. "She hasn't surfaced for ten minutes!"

"_And_," Aang says, obviously growing annoyed with the interruptions. "This is supposed to be a non-bending thing—OOF!"

His words are cut short by the sudden patch of sand beneath his feet shifting and tossing him on his backside.

"Answer the question Twinkles," Toph says, "_without _a lecture, thank you kindly."

Using a tiny whirlwind, the tattooed boy floats onto his feet again. "No thanks," he says after a couple dozen thoughtful seconds.

"I'll have a sand-battle with you, Toph."

"Thanks for the compassion Cap'n Boomerang, but you can't really have a bending-battle without any bending." She pauses, points a finger in his direction and says, "As in, _you _can't bend."

Sokka sends the girl a magnificent glare that's wasted on her unseeing eyes.

"Guys," Zuko chides, fingers entangled in Mai's hair, "we came out here to have dinner and no one's eating. You're all splashing or arguing. The guards would get mad if they found us out here, so it's probably best if we hurry."

Toph is strolling in his direction before he finishes speaking. "Good thinking, Sparky."

"I'll get Swe—Katara!" Aang happily scampers back into the water.

Sokka flees his seat next to Suki. "Oh thank the Spirits! You got any meat in that basket?"

"Sokka, calm down with the meat already."

"Seriously, you're going to go in a meat-induced coma some day…"

"_Toph! _Why…you…I'm _soaking_ wet now, thanks to you—"

"_I _didn't push you in the water, so no, not thanks to me, Sweetness. I appreciate the appreciation though." Pause. "News flash: you're a waterbender. Just use your super-special water magic to bend it off you."

"I…you…_ugh._"

"Also, close your mouth. You'll catch flies."

**II. **

"I hate to sound rude," Toph says, swigging her alcohol and leaning forward, staring her blue-eyed friend head on, "and by hate I mean 'I can't say this enough times'…but your brother sucks."

The tan girl across from her snorts, nods, and takes a timid sip of her own drink. "He kind of does, doesn't he?" Thoughtfully, she stares into the cup. "I mean, I love him and all but…"

"He's an idiot," Toph ventures. "A _super _idiot. With big ears." She sets down her glass to hold both hands by the sides of her head. "I'm talking _massive_," she adds. "And he's really, really goofy and clumsy and _have you ever heard him give a speech? _He get's all frozen and whatnot and gives me that 'ahhh help me Toph' look and then I have to get off my ass and _help _him 'cause I'm such a good _friend. _And his ponytail. It's so dumb that…that I can't even…" she slams a fist down on the wooden table, "I can't even _find _the _words._"

Then her forehead meets the wood and she's bursting into sobs.

Katara leans forward and pats her head. "I know Toph," she says soothingly. "Guys are really stupid, and Sokka's not any better. But…you know…just because you like him doesn't make it a characteristic of his."

"I don't-" the earthebender gasps through sobs "-_like _him! Spirits; how could…how could even say that!"

Katara contemplates the girl silently. Her hand retreats off her shoulder. "Sorry," she says softly.

They spend the next few minutes in silence, which Katara breaks by saying, "Another round?"

Toph, still face-planting in the table, nods slightly. "And make it strong. I feel really crappy tonight."

**III. **

One thing about Aang that was nearly impossible to not see was his boyish charisma. His goofy smile and quirky eyebrows were enough to get the girls sighing over him (and Katara raging over them) rather then other's that they _should _have been sighing over.

See, Sokka wasn't always the most observant, but he easily observed the lack of pretty girls by his side and had the sense to pin point the problem on boyishness.

It was a shock, almost, except not quite, when the gangly fifteen year old shuffled over to the older boy after dinner, plopped himself on a cushion beside him, and demanded that he learned Sokka's secret.

"…my laundry secret?" Sokka asked, feigning ignorance. "Or my hunting secret? I'd tell you the fishing one, but I haven't caught a fish yet so I don't really know it either."

"No, no," Aang said, "your _other _secret."

"…I don't follow."

"Girls," the Avatar deadpanned. "Your secret way to get girls."

"Oh…my, _what?_"

"Sok-_ka_," Aang pouted, "seriously! I need your help! There's this girl – and she's amazing, and I think I…well, _love _her but…I don't know if she loves me and…and…"

"…and?"

"And he has that scar!" The pale boy blurted out. "The girls in the marker place were talking about it yesterday. They said it made him attractive…and I really don't see it." He bit his lip, and Sokka watched his a growing fascination as his eyebrow twitched wildly. "You think my tattoos are the same kind of thing?"

Grimacing, eighteen year old Sokka placed an arm around the young airbender's shoulders. "Just one thing, buddy," he said, pausing for a dramatic effect.

"Break Katara's heart and I'll break _your_ arm."

Then he stood up, leaving his friend to fall on his face, and sauntered away. Amiably, he called over his shoulder, "Good luck!" and grinned when the other boy made a slight gurgling sound.

**IV. **

Zuko stares into his father's cold eyes and knows, just _knows, _that this man genuinely hates him. He sucks in his breath, rolls to the right, and narrowly dodges a column of fire.

"Father, please!" he begs, futilely, raising his hands in defense. "Stop!"

The Firelord smirks – Zuko is horrified; he actually _enjoys _this – and brings a fist in front of his son's face. "You will learn respect," he says, as if that's the perfect explanation of why he's about to blast the skin off his own son's face.

Then Zuko sees white, tastes fire, and screams out in agony. He writhes on the ground, clawing at his own face, oblivious to the paramedics and cries from the surrounding crowd.

And Father laughs.

* * *

><p><strong>So, how did I do? Good? Awful? Let me know in a review!<strong>


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